Your Cats Teeth Are Important (Part One)

How many teeth does my kitten have?

Your cat’s teeth are important so brushing your cat’s teeth is a great way to avoid dental disease. Ideally, it would help if you introduced dental care at a young age.

Finally, the only normal reason for tooth loss in both dogs and cats is when kittens or puppies lose their baby teeth. Also known as deciduous teeth, these should fall out on their own as your pet’s adult teeth grow in, just as the case is with humans.

Here are our top tips on brushing your cat’s teeth: ask your vet to show you how to brush your cat’s teeth correctly, buy specialised toothpaste for your cat. Cats should never use human toothpaste.

Bowel obstruction: continued vomiting, loss of appetite, lethargy, and breath that smells like poop are symptoms of a bowel obstruction. This is a medical emergency. Dry mouth is a leading cause of bad breath, whether you have two legs or four!

If you’re concerned that your pet hasn’t lost all of his or her deciduous teeth, be sure to call your veterinarian. Your vet can remove all baby teeth while your dog is under general anaesthesia to prevent any future dental issues.

Something as simple as a hair, piece of grass or string from a toy, or food caught in the teeth can cause an infection and result in bad breath.

Teething. Kittens can have bad breath while they are teething. Cats’ milk teeth fall out between 3 and 6 months. Food allergies can cause cats to have bad breath—infections from foreign material in kitty’s mouth.

Will my cat need to have a tooth out?

Not only has science proven that there are huge health benefits to having clean teeth, but it is also generally accepted that not brushing in not cool.

And this is a good thing. Periodontal disease has several serious complications. Arguably, better oral hygiene is responsible for a large part of the increase in human lifespan we have seen in the last century.

To prove the point, we have redneck jokes about lying through your tooth,  a whole mega-billion dollar industry based on fighting bad breath, and yeah, baby, Austin powers.

You can then move on to using a toothbrush specially designed for cats or a small ordinary toothbrush with soft bristles. Toothbrushes which fit over the end of your finger are available for cats and dogs.

Brushing your pet’s teeth is just as important in preventing dental disease as brushing your own. Ideally, your cat should get used to having its teeth cleaned from an early age. Wrapping a piece of soft gauze around your finger and gently rubbing the pet’s teeth should get it used to the idea.

How to keep your cat’s teeth clean

If you’re not regularly brushing your pet’s teeth, they could lose some due to periodontal disease. Poor oral hygiene for both dogs and cats can result in tartar build-up, tooth decay, infections, and gum problems. To prevent this, brush your dog or cat’s teeth every day (check out our blog post here for a simple how-to), and offer your pet tooth-cleaning snacks.

Begin by putting your cat’s toothpaste on your finger and offering it to them to lick. You can even buy toothpaste flavoured with chicken you will need a toothbrush that is designed for cats too. Have a look in your local pet shop for something suitable.
Choose a time of day that you can stick to, to make teeth brushing part of your pet’s normal routine – ensure you are calm and comfortable.

It might surprise you that cats commonly suffer from disorders of the teeth, jaw and mouth. As cats are great at hiding signs of discomfort and pain, it can be difficult, as an owner, to see that your cat even has an issue.

If you’re concerned about your pet’s current dental health, bring him or her into your veterinarian for an examination and a thorough cleaning.

Oral health issues can be a great source of suffering for our pets, and cats often seem to be much livelier and content after treatment. Maintaining good oral health and keeping your cat’s teeth clean is likely to improve the quality of your cat’s life.

Your cat might appear happy and relaxed, and may even be eating and drinking normally.

If the plaque is not removed and is left in contact with the tooth, it will harden to form tartar within just a few days.

Just like humans, cats also need to have a daily oral care regime. It’s important to clean your cat’s teeth in some way every day to remove the plaque that adheres to their teeth every day.

The additional benefit of feeding dry food is that the dry kibble creates abrasion on the surface of the teeth, which can help to wipe plaque away, which helps to clean their teeth.

Tartar cannot be brushed away and can lead to the start of gum problems which cause pain and discomfort. Feeding your cat a mixture of dry and wet food delivers food with a variety of tastes and textures which cats really enjoy.

That’s because of the hard texture of the kibble helps to remove plaque and prevents food and bacteria gathering around the gum line.

What should I feed my cat to avoid dental issues?

When feeding your cat, it’s worth: avoiding feeding them sugary or starchy treats. These encourage bacterial growth in plaque, which releases acid that can cause teeth to decay, feeding them dry food. Cats that eat this are less likely to suffer from dental disease in adulthood.

Periodontal disease (PD) has been recognised as one of the most prevalent diseases in cats, affecting around 70% of the domestic cats over two years of age [ 1 ], and 85% of those aged over five years [ 2 ].

What you eat affects your teeth. Some cat food is high in ingredients that may cause tartar which leads to plaque and tooth decay. If your cat has dental problems, you may want to feed him food that will help prevent dental health issues like tartar and tooth decay. Talk to your vet about food options.

The aetiology of this condition starts with the formation of dental plaque that extends into the gingival sulcus and, with the aid of the calcium salts from saliva, produces the calculus, which is the main cause for the development of gingivitis [ 4 ].

Pd is a generic term of a plaque-induced inflammatory condition, affecting the periodontium [ 3 ].

Plaque is a layer of microorganisms, mostly bacteria, adhered to the teeth, and is responsible for the initiation of PD [ 5 ].